Madhumalati

by Behl, Aditya; Weightman, Simon; Manjhan, Simon

  red betel: see note to p. 23 above.

  Yuma: Yuma is the personification of death in the Indian tradition. When the lifespan allotted to each being by Brahma (see note to p. 49 above) is at an end, Yama sends his minions to bring the soul to Yamapuruī (lit. ‘city of Yama’). There, the souls are judged and sent to either naraka (hell) or svarga (heaven).

  Who has ever found nectar without u snake?: a reference to fragrant sandalwood, whose sweetness is supposed to be guarded always by poisonous snakes coiled around the perfumed tree-trunks and branches.

  Sahajā: the spontaneous, natural, simple mystical state, to which Manohar’s nurse awakens him. She impels him to embark on a difficult ascetic quest to gain the beautiful Madhumālatī. The placement of Sahajā as Manohar’s mystical guide in the narrative implies that without proper spiritual instruction and nurture, no one can realize the simple or ‘self-born’ mystery of the human identity-indifference with God (waḥdat al-wujūd).

  Sahadeva: one of the five righteous Pāava brothers (see note to p. 7 above) in the epic Mahābhārata, who was famous for his knowledge, particularly of astronomy.

  unite the cakora bird with the moon: the cakora bird, or Greek partridge (Perdix rufa), is said to long for the moon without hope of its love being requited. Since an immense distance separates the bird from the moon in the sky, the image is commonly used to express the hopeless longing of lovers for one another.

  Śeu: the serpent companion of Viu, Śea is also called Ananta, ‘endless’, on account of his infinite length. In his form with one thousand heads, Śea is the couch and canopy of Viu when the God sleeps in the intervals between the cycles of yugas (see notes to pp. 3 and 12 above).

  Sumeru: also known as Mahāumeru, this mountain is a dazzling golden peak in the Himalayas and is the seat of Śiva. All the gods dwell on the sides of this mountain, which is covered with precious gems and rare plants, birds, and animals. Sumeru keeps the heavens in place by supporting their weight.

  silk-cotton tree: see note to p. 16 above.

  nīm tree: the nīm or margosa tree (Azadirachta indica) is famed for its bitter but medicinal leaves and fruit.

  If woman’s behaviour … ‘snake’ in the Turkish tongue: the word used in the Hindavī text is mār, which means ‘snake’ in Turkish. ‘Snake’ is a common derogatory term for a seductive and deceitful woman in Turkish culture.

  thorn on the ketakī blossom: the ketakuī or fragrant screw pine (Pandanus odoratissimus) has particularly lovely and sweet-smelling blossoms, as well as spiky leaves.

  Vāmā: vāma, the left side, refers to the belief that women control the left-hand side of creation. The left side holds negative connotations in the Indian tradition.

  Borax transforms gold in separation’s fire: borax (suhāgā) transforms gold in the alchemist’s fire, making it shine with greater purity. The Prince implies that he has similarly been transformed in the fire of separation.

  mantra: an inspired utterance with an esoteric meaning that frequently possesses special powers.

  Śravana: this is a reference to an episode in the Rāmāyaa, where King Daśaratha, the father of Rāma, accidentally kills Śravaa, a hermit-boy who was so devoted to his blind and lame parents that he carried them everywhere on his shoulders in two baskets. The blind parents cursed Daśaratha to die longing for his own son, so that he would also know the pain that he had inflicted on them.

  Daśaratha: in the epic Rāmāyaa, King Daśaratha suffered terribly when his son, Rāma was exiled to the forest for fourteen years. This was the result of the curse discussed in the preceding note.

  begging bowl: this bowl (khappar) is traditionally made from a coconut shell and is where the yogi collects the food, drink, or money offered by followers.

  yogi’s staff and crutch: the staff is made from bamboo or timur, a stick covered with knots, or is a trident of metal, and is used for walking or as a weapon. The crutch, or ãcul, is made of a horizontal stick about sixteen inches long fastened to a short vertical support. It is used as a rest for the chin or arms during meditation.

  He marked his forehead with a circle: marking the forehead with pigment or ashes acts as a symbol of a devotee’s specific faith or spiritual path.

  smeared his body with ashes: it is a very common custom among ascetics in India to rub ashes on their skins, either over the entire body or in specific marks. As ashes are associated with the cremation grounds, this signifies the yogi’s acceptance of death and his abandonment of the world. The god Śiva, the supreme ascetic, always covers his body with ashes from the cremation ground itself.

  hung shining earrings in both his ears: while it was customary for men in pre-modern India to wear earrings, yogis wore particularly large and heavy ornaments as a sign of their asceticism. This led to their being called also the kān-phaā or ‘split-ear’ yogis.

  ascetic’s viol: the kigurā or ektārā is a stringed instrument of medium size with a box-like frame carried by yogis, who use it to accompany their recitations of devotional poetry.

  Letting down his matted locks: a characteristic mark of the yogi is not to wash or to comb his hair, but to let it become dirty and matted.

  patched cloak and the girdle of rope: a special rope (āurband) made of black sheep’s wool to which the yogis fasten a loincloth (lagoī).

  Gorakh yogi: a follower of the rigidly austere tantric cult also known as the Nāth yogis. Their founder, Gorakhnāth, is believed to have lived between the ninth and twelfth centuries in eastern India. He was born a Buddhist but converted to Śaivism (worship of Śiva). The Nāth yogis practised a complex mix of austerities and alchemy in order to attain a state of perfected immortality that they believed to be the sahaja or natural state of a human being. Manohar’s assumption of the yogic disguise implies, in the narrative code of the Hindavī Sufi romances, his going on an ascetic quest to seek Madhumālatī. In this way the Hindavī Sufi poets adapt the symbolic vocabulary of a local religious group towards their own goal of expressing Sufi terms and concepts in a local Indian language. In conjunction with the yogic disguise of the hero, the Sufi poets also use many yogic terms for practices and states of being that Manohar essays on his way to Madhumālāti. See also notes to p. 15 in the Prologue.

  basil-bead necklace: the rosary made of basil-beads or rudrāka berries (of the tree Elaeocarpus ganitrus) is worn by all ascetics devoted to Śiva, and is used to count recitations of the names of God or prayers. The word rudrāka means ‘eye of Rudra (Śiva)’, and is believed to be a reference to the third eye of śiva, which will be opened during the destruction of the universe at the end of the Kali yuga.

  horn whistle: the whistle (signād) of the Nāth yogis is made of deer or rhinoceros horn, is about two inches long, and is blown before meals and before morning and evening worship.

  The one who remembers the Creator … bed of flowers: this is a reference either to the trial by fire of Abraham or the ordeal of Prahlāda. Abraham, revolted by the worship of idols which his people practised, went into a temple and desecrated the statues. King Nimrod then ordered him to be burnt alive. Allah intervened and miraculously Abraham was not harmed by the flames. Sūra 21: 66–9 reads, ‘[Abraham said, “Do ye then worship, besides Allah, things that can neither be of any good to you nor do you harm? Fie upon you, and upon the things that ye worship besides Allah! Have ye no sense?” They said, “Burn him and protect your gods, if ye do (anything at all)!” We [Allah said, “O fire! Be thou cool, and (a means of) safety for Abraham!”’ Prahlāda was the son of a rākasa (demon) king, Hirayakaśipu. Hirayakaśipu hated Viu because the god had killed his brother. Prahlāda was always completely devoted to Viu and thus enraged his father, who decided to torture the boy until he renounced his devotion. Every attempt Hirayakaśipu made to destroy Prahlāda, including throwing him into a pit of fire, was rendered harmless by the boy’s prayers to Viu. Hirayakaśipu finally gave up his terrible efforts and accepted his son again.

  grove of plantain trees: the kadalī van
a or plantain forest (Musa supientum) in Indian siddha traditions, from where this image is borrowed, signifies a place of self-mortification and ultimately, self-transformation. See David G. White, The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996) for a detailed account.

  he gave his head, then set foot: a reference to the namāz-i ma‘akūsa or ulī sādhanā practised by Sufis in imitation of Nāth yogic practice.

  zikr: a reference to the technical movements of head and mouth which are attached to the Sufi practice of ikr (lit. ‘remembering’, Ar.), recalling the Names of God. The Sufis were particularly adept at the practice of invoking the Divine Names (davat al-asmā’), which is here evoked allegorically as a necessary stage on the seeker’s path towards union.

  Having lost his love, he could not recognize himself: a reference to the famous Sufi ḥudī,‘He who knows himself, knows his Lord.’ Manohar has forgotten himself because he has lost his love, and he has now to awaken and train himself through ascetic practice in order to reach God/his love.

  the moon of the second night: the moon of the second night is supposed by the poets of this genre to be spotless and unblemished because of its smaller size, hence a better simile for the purity and radiance of the beloved’s face than the full moon. See v. 81, p. 35.

  The soles of her feet were red with dye: it is a traditional Indian mark of beauty to have the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands painted or dyed red with lac, an insect extract.

  a heavenly nymph banished to earth by the curse of Indra: Indra frequently sent celestial nymphs to earth to excite the passions of holy men and to distract them from gaining ascetic power. See note to p. 6 above.

  yojana: a measure of distance roughly equal to eight miles.

  As she stretched out her lovely arms … began to shine: the image suggests that her two breasts, which are round like the orbs of the sun and the moon, come into view when the maiden extends her arms. In the mystical or allegorical imagery of the poem, the sun and the moon could also refer to particular wind-channels in Manohar’s subtle body that began functioning at this stage in his transformative interior journey.

  truth is the essence of this world: a reference to the central value of the ‘true essence’ (sat bhāva) of the romance, which is the ultimate identity-in-difference of God and the world, lover and beloved, seeker and sought.

  Brahma’s cosmos: a reference to the yogic notion of the macro-cosmic universe within the symbolic body, the brahmāa (lit. ‘Brahma’s egg’). This is entered through the gateway between the eyes, the tenth door or duśama-dvāru, and is supposed to contain within it all the planets and stars, the sky and ether, and all the cosmic stations on the ascetic path.

  Tell me carefully … through you: here the poet anticipates the maiden’s place in the narrative, to act as a guide on the path of love for Manohar.

  Pemā: another allegorical character who functions as Manohar’s helper on his quest. Her name means Love, here a reference to the Sufi notion of ordinate love and not to the Indian God of Love, Kāmadeva.

  My home is the city of Ease-of-Mind: Citbisarāu, the name of Pemā’s city, could either mean Ease-of-Mind (cittu-viśrāma) or For-getfulness (cit-bisarāun). In either case it is a paradisaical city with a garden around it, where consciousness is lost. In the suggestive passage that follows, Pemā and her friends suggest unmanifested souls at play in the garden of paradise. Love’s incarnation in this mortal world is allegorically described as the demonic kidnapping of Pemā (Love) and her imprisonment in a dark and dreary forest, guarded by a demon who signifies the lower or carnal soul, the seat of lust, greed, and egotism.

  husu birds: the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), which breeds on the lakes of Central Asia and in the winter migrates to India. The haṃsa is used very commonly as a poetic device. It is famed for its snow-white beauty and grace and its flight to Lake Mānasa at the beginning of the rainy season to unite with its beloved. It also possesses the unique ability to separate milk from water when the two have been mixed, which is evidence of its great wisdom.

  the fifth note of the scale: the leading or regnal note or vādī svara that establishes the general character of a rāga. It is supposed to be so called because its tone is produced by air drawn from five parts of the body: the navel, breast, throat, heart, and forehead.

  Entering the picture-pavilion: the citrasārī or picture-pavilion, a gallery with pictures painted on the walls, is a reference to the ‘ālam alimāl or world of images, an intermediary stage between paradise and the mortal world. The allegorical reference is heightened in the next verse by the girls’ (or unmanifested souls) inability to speak when they emerge from the pavilion; language itself is inadequate to describe the higher levels of mystical experience.

  They could not open their mouths … spoke through gestures and signs: only signs and gestures can communicate the new stage of manifestation, signifying the radical breakdown of language as one strips away the veils that cover divinity.

  Without life my body lives on … fire of separation: Pemā’s condition is therefore just like the Sufi’s, who lives in the world away from God’s paradise. The condition of separation keeps the Sufi perpetually mindful of his divine source, from which he has been incarnated into this mortal world. Similarly, Pemā’s kidnapping by the demon suggests her mortal incarnation. Manohar’s task in the following sections will be to kill the demon and take Pemā back to her native land, the paradise-like realm of Citbisarāu.

  ghee: ghee is butter clarified over a flame until it is free of all impurities. It is poured over a fire during many rituals and makes the flames leap up with greater intensity.

  Pemā’s Sorrow: readers will recall that Pemā means Love, so that in the following allegorical passage it is the abstract value of love that is being held captive by the demon in the plantain forest. The demon, who signifies the ego or the carnal soul, will have to be killed by the seeker Manohar in order to release the Princess Love.

  Vāusuki: one of the seven great nāgas s (serpents) who hold up the earth.

  Kubera: the god of riches and treasure, he is the regent of the northern quarter of the earth.

  mahaā: the mahuā (Bassia latifolia) is a tree bearing sweet flowers that are used for preparing liquor. Elephants are much addicted to mahuā blossoms.

  caper bush: the caper or karīl bush (Capparis aphylla) is a thorny and leafless shrub which grows in deserts and is eaten by camels.

  henna: the henna plant (Lawsonia inermis; mehndi, Hind.) forms a very dense, thorny bush, with sprays of fluffy, gold flowers which have a heavy fragrance. The leaves are crushed into a paste which is used to create red designs on the hands and feet or to dye hair.

  jasmine flower: the jasmine (Jasminum auriculatum; jūhī, Hind.) has very small and extremely fragrant white flowers.

  flume-of-the-forest: also known as the parrot tree because it is attractive to parrots (Butea frondosa; hāk, Hind.). Between January and March it blooms in a riot of reddish-orange flowers covering the entire crown, and the sight of hāk trees blossoming in a grove is said to look like a forest fire, hence its English name.

  rose-apple: the rose-apple (Eugenia jambos; galāb jamun, Hind.) is a middle-sized tree with greenish-white flowers and small, pear-shaped, yellow or pink edible fruit.

  the green jack-fruit wrapped itself in a thorny sari: the jack-fruit tree (Artocarpus integrifolia; kaahal, Hind., panasa, Skt.) bears the largest edible fruit in the world, up to a hundred pounds in weight. The light-green skin of the fruit is covered in spiky growths.

  ghunghuci berry: the ghunghuci tree (Abrus precatorius) bears red berries with a characteristic black dot.

  The baahal fruit turned yellow: the baahal tree (Artocarpus lakoocha; vauphala, Skt., ‘large fruit’) bears sizeable yellow fruit from which a yellow dye is made.

  the tamarind grew twisted: the tamarind tree (from Persian tamar-i Hindī, meaning ‘Indian date’; Tamarindus indicu, umblī, iml
ī, Hind.) has a short, strong trunk, with black bark covered in deep fissures and horizontal cracks. The flowers are small, creamy or yellow, and scented. The brown, twisting pods contain hard seeds and sour pulp which is used in cooking.

  The wishing-tree left this world altogether: the wishing-tree or kalpataru, is one of the five trees in Svarga, the heaven ruled by Indra, and is reputed to grant all wishes.

  green pigeon: the green pigeon (Bucula aenea; hāurila, Hind.) is believed to avoid all contact with the earth. It hangs upside down from twigs to drink from streams and if killed it will continue to grasp the twig rather than fall to the ground.

  The drongo lost its own voice … many tongues: the common black drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis; bhngu, Skt.; bhujaga, bhujan, Hind.) has black plumage and a long; forked tail. It rides on the back of grazing cattle to eat the insects disturbed by the animal’s movement. It is known for coming very close to fires to catch the insects roused by the smoke, which gives it two other Sanskrit names, dhūmyāt,‘smoky’, and kolusā,‘black like charcoal’. It has a very wide repertoire of sounds and is an accomplished mimic.